Apple imac 17 inch User Manual

							
Screen tilts to the left or the right even after a manual adjustment. 
Note:  It is normal for the screen on an iMac (Flat Panel) to have a small amount of horizontal play. 
However, the screen should be able to be adjusted so that it will stay in a level horizontal position. 
1.	Remove ten screws connecting the back cover to the flat panel LCD display (refer to the Take Apart 
chapter, display topic). 
2.	Disconnect the panel cables to gain access the three screws on the metal cable retainer shown below. 
Remove the screws and lift the cable retainer off the panel shield. 
3. Loosen the four screws (shown below) that hold the panel shield to the neck assembly, and tilt the 
screen the opposite direction of the tilt. 
4.	While holding the display bezel in this position, tighten the same four screws that hold the panel shield 
to the neck assembly. 
5.	Replace the panel and check that the display is now horizontally level. 
20 - iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting	
Display Symptom Charts  
						

							
Hard Drive 
Hard Drive won’t mount to the desktop 
1. Disconnect any connected peripherals. 
2. Boot from the system CD that came with the computer and see if the hard \
drive mounts on the desktop. 
3. Launch Drive Setup and update the hard drive driver. 
4. If no hard drive is found in Drive Setup, verify the hard drive cable connections. 
5. Replace the hard drive cable. 
6. Replace the hard drive. 
7. Replace the logic board. 
Flashing question mark appears on the screen 
1. Boot from the system CD that came with the computer and see if the hard \
drive mounts on the desktop. 
2. Launch Drive Setup and update the hard drive driver. 
3. If no hard drive is found in Drive Setup, verify the hard drive cable connections. 
4. Replace the hard drive cable. 
5. Reinstall the software drivers for the hard drive. 
6. Reinstall system software. Backup the data first. 
7. Reinitiation the hard drive. 
8. Replace the hard drive. 
9. Replace the logic board. 
System hangs during normal startup process 
1. Boot from the system CD that came with the computer and see if the hard \
drive mounts on the desktop. 
2. Using Drive Setup, reinstall the system software drivers for the hard drive. 
3. Using Drive Setup, reinitiation the hard drive. 
4. Check all cable connections to and from the hard drive. 
5. Replace the hard drive cable. 
6. Replace the hard drive. 
7. Replace the logic board. 
Hard Drive Symptom Charts iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting -
21  
						

							
Optical Drive 
CD or DVD won’t mount to the desktop 
1.	Try cleaning the disc. If it is dirty or scratched, it may not mount. 
2.	Try a different disc. 
3.	Boot from Apple Hardware Test (hold down the “C” key at startup) or boot from the system install CD 
(use Startup Manager, hold down the Option key at startup). 
4.	Perform a clean install with the CD that came with the computer. 
5.	Replace the optical drive cable. 
6.	Replace the optical drive. 
7.	Replace the logic board. 
Can’t boot from the CD or DVD 
1.	Try cleaning the disc. If it is dirty or scratched, it may not mount. 
2.	Try a different disc. 
3.	Boot from Apple Hardware Test (hold down the “C” key at startup) or boot from the system install CD 
(use Startup Manager, hold down the Option key at startup). 
4.	Perform a clean install with the CD that came with the computer. 
5.	Replace the optical drive cable. 
6.	Replace the optical drive. 
7.	Replace the logic board. 
CD or DVD constantly ejects 
1.	Disconnect all peripheral devices, especially the mouse in cases where the disc is constantly ejecting. 
2.	Try cleaning the disc. If it is dirty or scratched, it may not mount. 
3.	Try a different disc. 
4.	Boot from Apple Hardware Test (hold down the “C” key at startup) or boot from the system install CD 
(use Startup Manager, hold down the Option key at startup). 
5.	Perform a clean install with the CD that came with the computer. 
6.	Replace the optical drive cable. 
7.	Replace the optical drive. 
8.	Replace the logic board. 
22 - iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting	
Optical Drive Symptom Charts  
						

							
Sound Out 
No sound from either internal or external speakers 
1.	Verify volume setting is correct in system preferences. 
2.	Replace the external speakers or headphone in question with a known-good device. 
3.	Reset parameter RAM. Press Command-Option-P-R during startup before “Welcome to Macintosh” 
appears. 
4.	Verify internal speaker cable is connected. 
5.	Replace the internal speaker. 
6.	Replace the logic board. 
Sound Out Symptom Charts	 iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting -
23  
						

							
Sound In 
No sound is recorded 
1. Check setup of the system preferences for the microphone. 
2. Check the microphone cable connection. 
3. Replace the internal microphone. 
4. Replace the neck assembly. 
24 -iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting 
Sound In Symptom Charts  
						

							
Error Beep(s) 
Computer beeps at startup. 
1.	RAM expansion DIMMs for the iMac must be PC133 compliant and use SDRAM devices. If the user 
installs a DIMM that uses EDO or SGRAM devices, the computer will beep several times when the user 
attempts to restart the computer. 
2.	Refer to “Power-On Self Test” mentioned earlier in this chapter. 
Error Beep(s) Symptom Charts	 iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting -
25  
						

							
Modem 
No modem dial tone 
1.	Verify known-good analog (not digital) telephone line. 
2.	Verify known-good RJ-11 telephone cable. 
3.	Verify RJ-11 cable is not plugged into Ethernet port. 
4.	Inspect RJ-11 connector and modem port for pin damage. 
5.	Verify RJ-11 cable is firmly installed in the modem port. 
6.	Verify correct modem driver is installed and the correct CCL is selected. If the problem persists, 
reinstall system software. 
7.	Open the bottom housing. Verify the internal RJ-11 modem cable is connected to the modem. 
8.	Replace the RJ-11 board. 
9.	Replace the modem. 
10. Replace the logic board. 
26 - iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting	
Modem Symptom Charts  
						

							
I/O Ports 
Difficulty Plugging in an Ethernet Cable 
Note: The Ethernet port on an iMac (Flat Panel) has a special mechanism to prevent modem cables from 
accidentally being inserted. In some cases, this mechanism can cause difficulty when attempting to plug in 
an Ethernet cable. 
1. Verify that you are plugging into the Ethernet port. See graphic below. 
2. Notice that the port has two metal tabs (circled below) which prohibit the use of a modem cable. 
3.	When inserting the Ethernet cable, try holding the cable at a slight angle and wiggle the connector to get 
past the metal tabs. 
4.	Once the connector has passed the metal tabs it should slide in with no \
further difficulty. 
I/O Ports Symptom Charts	 iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting -
27  
						

							
USB Printing Problems 
iMac cannot print to attached known-good printer. 
1. Verify that the printer is Macintosh compatible. 
2. Verify that you have setup the printer correctly in OS X. 
3. Reinstall the printer driver. 
4. Switch the printer to another USB port. 
5. Replace the printer interface cable. 
6. System software is corrupted. Reinstall the system software. 
7. Replace the logic board. 
28 -iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting 
USB Printing Problems Symptom Charts  
						

							
USB Printing Problems Symptom Charts iMac (Flat Panel) Troubleshooting -
29